Library filed under Energy Policy from New York

"This is a local zoning issue, and now, the state is trying to butt its nose into an area that has always been a local issue," Tyksinski said. "You can't do that. It's wrong." In June, the state Legislature approved the Power NY Act of 2011. The act includes Article X, which regulates the review of power plants of 25 megawatts or more - including wind projects.

"COAX members are appalled that Article X was slipped into law without any discussion by our elected officials with the very New York state citizens they were elected to represent," members of COAX said in a statement. "We find this lack of transparency to be totally unacceptable."

It means the state has the authority to take approval of energy projects out of the hands of local leaders ...This is especially controversial when it comes to wind farms. For years, local town halls have been the place to debate wind power issues like noise, appearance and property.

"It takes away local control," Burling said Monday. "I'm not anti-windmill. I'm indifferent on it, but I believe the local people should have the final say, and not the state of New York." Burling said a lot of good things were also included in the Power NY Act, but he couldn't support it due to the windmill issue.

"Albany's 'one size fits all' policy rarely works and ultimately, the decision on whether to explore or erect alternative energy generation solutions should be left to the locality it will affect," Mr. Blankenbush said. "Local rule has worked well in my district and I'd like to see it continue that way."

New projects that are at or exceed 25 megawatts would be subject to Article X. Proposed projects in Jefferson County range from St. Lawrence Wind Farm's 76.5 megawatts to Galloo Island Wind Farm's 246 megawatts. But a few of the local projects may want to join the Article X process, if developers feel their proposals are wasting on the vine.

During his brief tenure as governor of New York, David Paterson decided to put numbers to his commitment to alternative energy. By 2015, he pledged, 45 percent of the state's electricity would come from renewable resources and improved efficiency. Wind power was a big part of the plan.

"New Yorkers want clean energy - but they also know when they're being taken to the cleaners," Stringer said in a statement. The majority of the money - collected from customers' bills - has been awarded to projects outside the city, and in some cases even outside the country

But the market for medium- and large-scale wind projects has slowed dramatically this year, here and across the country, for a variety of reasons, including low natural gas prices and uncertainty over expiring tax breaks. That's a particular concern in the Capital Region, which is home to General Electric Co.'s renewable energy headquarters and one of its wind farm monitoring stations in Schenectady.

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, begun in 2008 to curb emissions of carbon dioxide through state auctions of pollution permits, is facing a glut of devalued permits caused by a rapid, unexpected drop in carbon dioxide emissions. "Everyone is swimming in RGGI permits."

The economic reality of wind-farm development has always relied on two things: government subsidies in some form, and a growing cost of electricity. In the middle of this decade, both federal and state governments were pushing financial aid to alternative energy projects, and because its technology is largely developed, wind power was a darling of the renewable energy crowd. ...Now, all of that is either gone or disappearing.

This petition and complaint was filed with the New York State Supreme Court in response to a vote taken by the Town of Cape Vincent's planning board that approved the environmental impact statement for the St. Lawrence wind energy proposal. A subset of the filing is provided below. The full document can be accessed by selecting the link at the bottom of this page.

It is likely there will be both economic and regulatory pressure for those projects to piggyback on the Galloo Island transmission line. ...And the wind farm developers get to optimize their returns and the landowners who are negatively affected by all this will get squat. And the taxes the developers will save with their PILOT agreements will help pay for all this - which is a lot more sad than ironic.

Already, the town boards of Greece and Webster have come out against having turbines off their shores; the Irondequoit town board may do the same in October. Secretiveness never builds confidence in government, and the power authority is taking the wind out of potential support for this energy solution.

After lengthy discussion, Town Board members on Tuesday unanimously voted to table a resolution expressing opposition to a proposal for wind farms in Lake Ontario. The board decided to get more input from citizens. Members said a decision would be made at October's meeting instead.

Little or no growth is expected this year in the U.S., the Hoejbjerg, Denmark-based consultant said today. MAKE Consulting lowered its forecast for wind turbine installations in the U.S. by 23 percent from 2010 to 2015. "The slow recovery of the U.S. economy coupled with continued weakness in natural gas prices has provided a headwind for U.S. wind turbine sales."

There is a David and Goliath aspect to these battles between heavily funded corporate interests and citizen activists who come out and stand in the rain with home-made signs. Will the NIMBY's - a designation one should wear with pride - really be able to do something, as they did in Meredith, or will the forces of darkness masking as environmental crusaders prevail? Tune in.

The cost is phenomenal and since many platform and mooring solutions have yet to be discovered, the price will climb. Then there's the maintenance. Are there experts ready to tackle the problems? And what will the repairmen charge? With Ontario's gargantuan deficit, we better hope they work for free.

The five-member commission plans to hire an independent consultant to review National Grid's procedures for allocating overhead costs to its U.S. utilities, including the Upstate company formerly known as Niagara Mohawk. Staff accountants at the PSC asked for the review after finding instances where National Grid appeared to bill Upstate ratepayers for equipment or expenses in New England and Long Island.

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